


By a Thread

by LouiseLouise



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But has no actual knowledge or accurate vocabulary to write about it, First Kiss, Getting Together, It obviously did not stop her from trying, M/M, Presumed Dead, The author practiced rappelling twice at summer camp 25 years ago, but super briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23156251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseLouise/pseuds/LouiseLouise
Summary: “I remember this place,” Buck says smiling as they arrive on the accident scene involving a car, a bike and a group of hikers. He’s aware he shouldn’t smile as there are multiple casualties, but he can’t help thinking about that strange phone call that led them to finding a set of bones. “When was it, like two years ago?” he asks, more a rhetorical question than anything.Bobby shakes his head. “Let’s hope we don’t find skeletons this time,” he says before directing everyone into position.OrThe team is almost done with rescuing people when Eddie’s gear gets stuck, and the outcome doesn’t look good for him.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 278





	By a Thread

**Author's Note:**

> Beta by the amazing [ToughPaperRound](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToughPaperRound). All remaining mistakes are mine, and English still isn't my first language.

“I remember this place,” Buck says smiling as they arrive on the accident scene involving a car, a bike and a group of hikers. He’s aware he shouldn’t smile as there are multiple casualties, but he can’t help thinking about that strange phone call that led them to finding a set of bones. “When was it, like two years ago?” he asks, more a rhetorical question than anything. 

Bobby shakes his head. “Let’s hope we don’t find skeletons this time,” he says before directing everyone into position.

The victims on the road with minor injuries are the easiest, and they’re being shielded away from the sight of the only victim that had passed before the 118 arrived, to avoid any panic. 

Others are hanging on the edge of the cliff, fingers digging into the soil or clinging to the rocks as best as they can. The car has fallen way below, too far to be reached from the road, but Bobby knows another team has been called to take care of that, so he focuses on the people they can help.

“I don’t know why you complain about the winch,” Buck jokes, talking with Chim through their radio. He’s in charge of the winch today, while Eddie and Chim are on rappelling duty to bring everyone up and into Hen and Bobby’s care.

“I’m fine if you wanna keep it Buckley,” Chim jokes back.

It takes them hours to get almost everyone back on solid ground and dispatched into ambulances, while a chopper is circling the perimeter to check if any of the victims could’ve fallen even lower than the car, where the firefighters can’t see.

They reach all the victims one by one, fighting their own exhaustion, until there’s just a woman left, Laura, holding on to her bike while the bike is partly held by its wheel on some roots coming out between the rocks. 

“Chim, I’m gonna need you back down here fast,” Eddie says when he approaches the woman. He tried getting her to grab his hand, but the bike is in the way and he can’t risk getting closer alone. He can see that she’s bleeding and struggling to stay conscious, but Eddie keeps talking to her so she doesn’t let go.

“On my way.”

From Chim’s side, it’s easy to secure her with a harness but as he does so, her bike detaches from the cliff and hits Eddie, making him lose his grip and slide, dragged down with the metal frame. He bumps into the rocks but his hands can’t grasp anything long enough to steady himself again, and the movements get his rope entangled with Chim’s gear, all of them weighing on the winch.

Chim tries to disentangle the ropes and the gear but with a victim in his arms, his hands can’t reach far enough to do much. “Buck,” he radios his teammate, “we’re stuck here, the ropes are too messed up, you're gonna have to pull us up all at once, okay?"

Buck starts working the winch up and they move slowly before coming to a halt. “Something’s wrong! Guys, can you check if something's stuck on your side?” Buck asks with concern.

“It’s the freakin' bike,” Eddie sighs, “I think it got caught up in another root below us.” He tries to move and reach the bent metal frame, leaning in as much as he can, outstretching his arms but his fingers barely brushes the bike. He tightens his hands around the rope, giving all he’s got but it won’t budge, not even a little. “I have no room for leverage,” he groans. 

“I can’t even move to help,” Chim says, “Buck you’re gonna need someone else to rappel down here and disentangle us before Laura here loses too much blood.” 

“On it,” Buck says.

The wait seems like an eternity until he talks to them again. “It’s gonna take a while guys, backup will be another hour.

“We don’t have an hour Buckaroo,” Chim says, doing is best not to pass his panic onto Laura.

“Okay, okay, me and Bobby will figure something out, just give as a minute” Buck says and he’s definitely not doing a good job at concealing his panic.

“I’m the one keeping you down,” Eddie tells Chim.

“Since day one Eddie,” Chim jokes, hoping to lift up the tension, “but we still love you man.”

Eddie sighs. “Buck, I can’t move. There’s no way I can get free of the bike and we can’t wait another hour to get her to the hospital. I need to--” he reaches his pocket, taking out his knife. He takes a deep, deep breath. This is not how he thought he'd die. 

“Diaz,” Chim says, dead serious, when he understand Eddie’s intentions.

“Chim,” Eddie looks at him just as serious, “you know you can’t go up as long as I’m stuck, and I don’t see how I can’t get this thing off me.” 

“Fuck!” Chim’s grip tightens around his own rope. “Fuck, no man there’s got to be another way.”

“Eddie, Eddie what’s going on down there? What do you need?” Buck asks through the radio. 

Eddie takes a deep breath. This is gonna hurt, in more ways than one. “Listen Buck, you're gonna take Chim up as fast as you can. I’m gonna cut the rope and set him free, okay? You take Chim up, you bring him up safe, you hear me?”

“What? No, Eddie, you’re not cutting that rope, that rope is the only thing keeping you al-- No. No, Eddie, no way!”

“Buck there’s no other way. I need to.” 

“Eddie, listen to me! Eddie you’re not giving up,” Buck’s voice is frantic, “don’t-- Eddie, think about Chris, your son needs you, you can’t give up. You’re not cutting that rope.” 

Eddie feels his heart shatter at the mention of Christopher. He loves his kid so much, losing him is the last thing he wants, and he can’t stand the idea of his son losing another parent, of going through more tears and dark days but he can't think like that right now. Someone’s life depends on him. Eddie knows Buck wants to hold on to hope until the last second but it's gonna be too late if Eddie doesn't act soon.

“He has you, Buck. You take good care of him for me, okay?” He doesn’t ask Buck to promise him that, he just knows the man will look after his son like his own. After all, he already does.

Eddie waits for an answer, he needs Buck to understand that he has no choice, he needs to hear Buck’s voice one last time but all he gets are sobs. “Buck, you take care okay? And don't be sad for too long,” he whispers, starting to cut the rope.

Chim tries to not look away, not let Eddie thinks he’s alone for this last moment, but it’s too much, it’s way too much, after all they’ve survived so far.

“Eddie,” Buck finally says, voice strangled with sobs. “I can’t lose you, I love you, Eddie please, find a way.”

Eddie closes his eyes before pushing the knife through the last thread, and lets go.

He doesn’t hear Buck wail and fall to his knees screaming his name, doesn’t see Bobby running towards the edge, replacing him at the winch and pulling Chim and the woman up to safety, while Hen crouches beside Buck, hands on his arms, his shoulders, doing her best to bring comfort, if that’s even possible.

He hears the wind in his ears, way too loud and way too fast. He feels his chest bumping against something and if that’s how death feels, it’s not that bad, he thinks.

It’s not death though, it’s a tree stump coming out of the cliff, catching his suspenders mid fall.

He hears a buzzing, loud and obnoxious, like a giant motor? His eyes are a bit lost between what’s up and what’s down, but he feels a squeeze on his arm and someone talking to him and somehow, he knows he’s gonna be okay.

“We got you,” that same someone says, settling him inside what he recognizes as a chopper. “We got your boy, Captain Nash,” they add through their radio. “Bringing him back to you now.”

“Am not dead then?” he mumbles, and the people around him laugh. 

“Not yet, but you got us all scared for a moment.”

Seconds later he’s on solid ground, standing up only because someone’s helping, his legs still in shock after his fall. He sits down, hearing someone screaming his name, coming closer. He knows that voice. Loves that voice.

“EDDIE!” Buck shouts again and again, and suddenly Buck’s here, kneeling in front of Eddie. “Fuck, fuck I thought I-- we thought we lost you,” he says, his hands instantly cupping Eddie’s face. Buck’s crying but it’s not fear or sadness anymore, it’s relief, and Eddie knows he can rest a little now, he’s safe. 

“I found a way,” he says.

“Yeah, you did,” Buck chuckles, taking Eddie in for a hug. “But I really thought I’d lost you, and you know I can’t take care of Chris on my own Eds. I would’ve, but I’m not you.”

“Together, then,” Eddie says, burying his face in the crook of Buck’s neck. “You and me, and Chris?” he hopes Buck understands what he’s really asking, what he’s wanted for so long.

Buck pulls away to look at Eddie and smiles. “Yeah, you and me, that’d be great,” he says, leaning in to press a kiss on Eddie’s lips. He understood.

Eddie lets out a breath. It feels really really good, kissing Buck, though he’d really like to avoid falling off cliffs in the future in order for it to happen again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> This story can be reblogged from tumblr [here.](https://theladyandthewolves.tumblr.com/post/612665486006681600/by-a-thread)  
> Like always, every kudos, emoji and comment warms my heart ♥


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